Boost Your Child’s Creativity
Isn’t it difficult trying to “unplug” your child from the latest tv show or video game? And talk about electronic overload when your oldest tries to convince you that she really CAN play DS while having a conversation with you AND having the tv on in the background!
This week I share a few stories of programs our school runs that help kids get excited about reading, teaches them about teamwork, and gets their creative juices flowing. These ideas can work at home, too…all it takes is having quiet in the house and talking to your children!
PARP is the Parent As Reading Partners program that the National PTA sponsors every year. I touched on our theme for this year but our committees have been super creative in the past. Even if you don’t have a PTA at your school, a team of dedicated parents can certainly put together a reading program like this.
Once you have a theme, take it and run! Last year’s theme was about reading around the world and each child in the school (550!) received a handmade passport which was stamped each time a child was caught reading. If you read for 15 minutes everyday, they you received a stamp. There were trivia questions about different countries scattered around the school so if your teacher asked a question and you got it right, you received another stamp.
They closed the program by painting a huge world map on the driveway to our school, complete with a welcome message. Each class member had a chance to paint a different part of the map. There was a ton of work involved for both parents and teachers but all the kids were so excited to earn their passport stamps.
I’d love to hear if your school has any programs that encourage reading. If your school has PARP, what was your theme this year?
Check out our brand new contest here!
photo credit: eyeliam
School Lunch Reform
